Concordia’s Law Meets Engineering lecture series launches this September

Concordia's jurist-in-residence Morton Minc is launching a series of eight law-related lectures in collaboration with the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Inspired by the Faculty of Arts and Science's Jurist-in-Residence conversation series, the first Law Meets Engineering lecture will take place on Sir George Williams Campus on September 25 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It will feature guest speakers Nancy Cleman and Nicholas Bertram, both of whom are intellectual property lawyers.

The two will present an overview of intellectual property concepts, including things like trademarks, copyright, patents and other information useful to future engineers. The event is officially recognized by the Barreau du Québec.

Me. Minc hopes to demystify the law for Concordia students by connecting them with leading experts in Quebec and Canadian law through events like this upcoming lecture series.

“This is a completely new opportunity. It’s thanks to Dean Amir Asif and his vision and initiative,” he says.

‘Some of the best legal minds in Quebec’

Asif explains that students may encounter several legal principles in their future work as engineers. These include contracts, copyrights, intellectual property, professional liability, environmental regulation, property law and tort.

“To effectively serve the public and contribute to society, engineers need to understand legal regulations within their jurisdictions and principles governing their work,” Asif says.

“I am extremely thankful to Morton Minc for organizing this important lecture series and inviting some of the best legal minds in Quebec to train the next generation of engineering and computer science leaders.”

Minc says these lectures will provide engineering students with academic experience they would not normally receive. He adds that working through topics of the law with Concordia students has been beneficial for both the students and himself.

Robin Schiller, a lawyer who is collaborating on the organization of the lecture series, agrees.

“My experience with engineering clients has taught me that graduating engineers could greatly benefit from some corporate and intellectual property advice,” Schiller says. “We are excited to bring these two groups of professionals together because we believe their association will be mutually beneficial.”

‘Concordia has become the vanguard of new and exciting programs’

Lectures to come in the series will touch on other engineering-related topics in the law, such as civil responsibility, labour law, accounting for research and development, business strategy and much more.

For Minc, events put on through the jurist-in-residence program not only help students be more conscious of various aspects in their fields, but they also showcase the university.

“This is an innovative approach that the dean has launched for engineers — Concordia has become the vanguard of these new and exciting programs for students,” he says.

Minc says he’s found his experience with Concordia students to be very inspirational and is looking forward to working with those from the Gina Cody School.

“The engineering students who are graduating now are entrepreneurial. They’re outward looking and inquisitive. They are creative and work outside the box.”

The Law Meets Engineering series is designed for students in the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, but the lectures are free and open to the public. Register for the first lecture.

Learn more about Concordia’s Department of History and the Jurist-in-Residence program.